Nah, let me stop there, because if I listed all of the Sean Bells, Amadou Diallos, Troy Davises, Assata Shakurs, Emmit Tills, Hurricanes, Geronimo Pratts…man, I can list them until they reach back past the civil rights movement and the result will be the same.

The message being sent to our people is that our lives aren’t worth anything. We are STILL 3/5 of a man, still fighting for equality and recognition…and that the world sees us as the bottom of the barrel. ANIMALS are more valued than that of a scholarship-granted 17yr old on his way home from the convenience store.

I pray that Trayvon’s parents take this to civil court. Just the way the Browns and Goldmans tried OJ Simpson and made him accountable SOME how..so should Zimmerman have to pay somehow. His name should be dirt, his life should be rough…and yes, I know it’s all up to God and He’ll work it out, but I am at a loss for understanding right now so logic isn’t setting in. Excuse me for that. I just wanted to smack the smile off of Zimmerman and his defense attorneys faces. A child is dead and your win is dirty. It’s soiled with the politics of this man’s connections and this jury’s clear idiocy.

My profile pic is still blacked out…so are those of my friends who chose to stand in support…but, the black spaces aren’t profile pics online. The VOIDED, empty spaces belong to the hearts of Trayvon’s family and those who’ve come to love him through his father’s tears and mother’s strength. There’s a fear for the children and men of our families, there’s anger for the smugness and privilege of people like Zimmerman, there’s so many mixed emotions about justice and rights and loss of value to our culture.

I remember saying back when Obama was elected president, “Don’t get comfortable. Racism isn’t dead…it’ll never be gone. As a matter of fact, you will see it rise to the surface like driftwood…”

I knew not to get comfortable. The election of a Black person into office wasn’t an end to all of Black people’s problems…it was the beginning of an unveiling. The hate for our people had been cloaked in niceties and affirmative action and interracial marriages and stirred up to look like a perfect cafe au lait in a cup. What it really was…was suppressed behind fake smiles, whispers of disguised disdain and simple conspiracies at everyday places like jobs and schools. It was snide remarks and debates about the word nigga/er. It was hidden in devilish prodding and feigned innocence.

I for one have never and WILL never think racism is over or done or quieting. It’s roaring loudly into the ears of America right now.